Claire was tired. She had gotten a few hours sleep at the library, curled up by Reggie. It was, nice- They slept on some newspapers and such, stuff that the library people knew were also preserved elsewhere. Not exactly ideal, but it worked. Reggie was tossing and turning in his sleep, eventually just grabbing onto Claire. She didn't mind, just... Thinking, trying to get back to sleep. But she... Couldn't. Her mind was whirring too hard.
The Airbus was... The last place to look. They had to be there. If not... Reggie could fly. They could find more places to search. They couldn't be dead. It just- She couldn't take that. She couldn't. Hours passed, fitfully going in and out of sleep, until eventually she awoke properly, yawning and gently nudging Reggie awake. "C- C'mon, come on, we gotta go keep looking."
Reggie groaned, but slowly opened his eyes. He'd gotten some muscle on his arms, not much, but- Well, a week of near constant working apparently does wonders for a workout routine. Still, he had an almost... Defeated? Defeated, look in his eyes.
"Claire... Can we please just- Take one day to rest? It's... It's been a week. We can check with shelters in the area for them, and then check... The last place, but-"
"Okay, okay, that's- Good plan of action!" She was already getting dressed for it, adventurers coat on, book of omens open. "I- I, I can, help, I'm getting better with divination, I think my dreams are getting there! We, we just- Come on!" She pulled on him, frantic with energy. They were OUT there, they had to be.
But Reggie pulled back. "A day, please- We both need it."
"We- WE NEED OUR PARENTS, REGGIE!" She shouted, starting to tear up. "Please- We- We need to keep up our momentum, we have to keep going." She couldn't- She couldn't even stand him questioning this- Her mom and dad were out there, trying to find THEM somewhere, and- And... "Please..."
Reggie stared. For long, uncomfortable seconds, he stared. And then he just... slumped over. "Alright." With a flash of amber, he changed into a Tengu, motioning for Claire to climb on.
LATER
The search was from the skies, for the most part. He just flew, with Claire holding onto him, stretching his aching wings. It- it felt kinda pleasant, kinda? But he was just- Just too tired. Traitor. Traitor body, traitor head. His body was betraying him. He shouldn't... Be, tired. Heroes don't get tired they just- Help people. And, he was helping. He'd cleared out the lions share of the rubble around town, gotten food to those who needed it, saved people from the flooding. But... That was secondary. There were still four people he had to save. Claire was right, he couldn't rest until then.
He landed and stumbled a bit, shaking the ache from his leg. He had a bit of a limp on the way to the base camp. The base camp was... Cluttered. This was the biggest natural disaster anyone had ever seen, at least- In this region. There were a few gods milling about, planning for the disaster relief, but- Well maybe he'd ask them for help, but for now it was the daily check with the search and rescue coordinator.
He just, waited in the, makeshift lobby- Claire to his left, leaning on him. There was some... Construct there, too. Gave off the divine spicy sensation. Her face was flat, with a dark expression- Not painted on like most constructs, apparently her face just looks like that. She sat down in a chair by Reggie, between him and some raven... thing. Raventhing. He wasn't next in line, there were other people trying to help, and it was hard to keep it all going smoothly. Eventually, it seems the Construct was up for conversation. "... You are a bit young to be doing search and rescue."
Reggie nodded, but just pointed to the originator. "This is what lets me do it. It's like- Weird god science thing. Lets me change origins on a dime. It's a bit lengthy to explain how it works." He fiddled with it, and at the constructs curious look, he elaborated. "I, uh- This isn't what I normally look like, usually I'm a human."
She nodded. "Was it loaned to you? Or did you make it?"
"I- Prayed to a god for help making it. Kaynan, the Chained Mind." He might've seen the guy, actually? He saw Tuvkar and Litran at least, and that was like two thirds of the chain-holders. If they were here, he probably was.
The construct nodded. "A, valiant use of his gift." And, that was that. She didn't seem much up for more conversation. Fair, he'd had his, had his fill. Eventually, he was called up. "Any luck finding them?" He asked, for the... Seventh time, since the tornado.
The rasselbock- A short, rabbity lady, with antlers, she shook her head. "The... Unpleasant possibility, is left where we found it still. I- Thank you, so much, for what you've done thus far. So many lives were saved thanks to you. But you don't have to jut keep going like this, you can rest."
Reggie shook his head. "It's... Alright, 's alright. I'm good. I'll get back to the search." He turned, and left, Claire following him. Spread his wings, and fly, passenger included. He had to find them. This would be it, they'd finally find some home to go to, and things would. Go back to normal.
They were nearing the airbus. Claire had her eyes closed. She was... Crying. Reggie didn't know why- They'd finally, find their parents, they'd go home, things would go back to normal. They would! Really, Reggie was sure of it. Things were-
Things.
Things weren't. Things, weren't normal. Not by a long shot.
Claire was silently just staring at the bodies. Lacerated. Mutilated. A few feet away from... The airbus. The Airbus that Argus had dropped.
That Argus had dropped.
Argus.
He did this.
Claire was saying something to him, manic in her intensity.
Argus did this, didn't he?
He grabbed Claires wrist, and started to fly once more. He ignored the ache in his wings.
He was going to kill that fucking gecko.
Claire was saying something. He didn't- He couldn't really understand, he just... took a gamble and spoke. "Rattlescale did this. I am going to kill him, and then we can move on with our lives." This didn't calm Claire down, she started shaking him harder, trying to stop him. Too bad. Reggie could see Rattlescale now- All alone in some valley, watching over the city.
Argus Rattlescale was a patient man. He was a Draconis, a young one- He had plenty of time to wait, and see what would happen. Plenty. But his reactions weren't slower due to this. Not, by a long shot. So when he saw a flash of amber, and heard something big and heavy heading towards him, he moved.
CRASH. Rolander and DuClaire landed, the former pounding into the ground as a Draconis. He was seething mad, that much Argus could tell. "YOU!" The child called out. "YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!"
Argus Rattlescale was a patient man. And, rather wise, at least with how people worked. It's what made him such a great teacher. He didn't flinch at the accusation, he kept that much control over the situation. But... He could use this. He spilled no blood on the day of the disaster, yes, but... Not a soul was around. He could use this. "Whatever do you MEAN?" He asked, pumping the sarcasm into his voice.
The Originator. That's... What mattered now. His life HERE was over, at least- Primarily because there IS no here, anymore. He'd have to start over again either way, so why not do it in force? Oh yes, this would work perfectly. Rolander took the bait, too. "YOU DROPPED THE AIRBUS ON THEM- YOU PLANNED FOR THEM TO DIE IN THIS STORM! I KNEW YOU WANTED THE ORIGINATOR, BUT- ORPHANING ME AND CLAIRE IS THE LAST MISTAKE YOU'LL EVER MAKE!" And Rolander charged in.
And Rattlescale just dodged to the left. The child was too slow, unweildy in this form to compensate. He crashed into a forgotten carriage, roaring as he freed himself. Now, then, the watch on his wrist- GAH!
The little brat of a Nekomata bit his ANKLE! Rattlescale was shaking her off, growling, when- Wham! A blow to the back of his head. Reginald had freed himself then. No matter. The next attack, Rattlescale caught, sending Reginald into the dirt, wheezing for breath. "The watch, Reginald, now. Think of what ELSE I would do, to get it? Wouldn't it be easier to just hand it over?" He pinned Reginald down, growling.
But the little brat was still too spirited, slamming into Rattlescales back with his tail. "NO! I- I'LL EXPOSE WHAT YOU ARE TO THE WORLD! EVERYONE WILL KNOW!" He howled, snapping up and running to the carriage.
Rattlescale smirked. "And who would believe you? Some little troublemaker over a respected member of the community? It would be easy to throw them off the trail." Reginald grabbed some metal from the Carriage, brandishing it as a weapon, as Claire scampered up Argus' body, covering his eyes and clawing at his face. He pried the pesky cat off and chucked her to the side. "My quarrel is with HIM, not YOU." He said, hissing at the stings from the scratches. He dodged the swings from Reginalds improvised weapon, before catching it and breaking it.
"THEY'LL TEAR THROUGH YOUR MIND, RIP THE TRUTH FROM YOUR SKULL!" Reginald roared, charging and biting on Rattlescales arm, holding down and digging in.
"AUGH!" Argus slammed the brat into the ground, stomping his tail. The child still tried, but eventually was forced to let go, rolling away. "Do you really think it would GET that far? Do you really think I don't have PLANS for if it DOES?" It wouldn't work, anyways. No amount of truth spells would get around the fact that his hands were clean.
"THEN- THEN- THEN I'LL STOP YOU MYSELF!" Reggie roared. Perfect. Argus waited for Reginald to charge once more, and just decked him. Out, like a light. He turned to the pesky little Nekomata, and grabbed her.
"Any little, tape decks this time?" He asked, squeezing her. Ah, there was one, jacked pocket. He took it out and crushed the tape into the dirt. "Now then. As far as anyone is concerned? Reggie there had a mental break, and attacked me out of nowhere. And, out of *loyalty to your friend*, it seems you got sucked into it. Understood?"
She spat and hissed at him, clawing at his arm. "We'll- WE'LL EXPOSE YOU!" She yelled.
Rattlescale chuckled. "I highly doubt that. No recordings, after all. Have fun, stewing in this." He set her down, and took off.
Yes, yes... This was a big gamble. But if it worked, it would give Rattlescale all the time he needed to engineer a way to get the Originator.
